Lab Geeks in the Know
by mercy4vr
Summary: What happens when an overheard conversation causes Adam Ross to google Lindsay on the final day of the trial? Spoilers up to 3x18 SOoH aka Super Ep. A love interest for Adam? Upcoming DL of course, developing MS friendship.
1. The Overheard Conversation

**Disclaimer:** I don't own 'em, don't claim to. So don't sue me, eh?

**Summary: **What happens when an overheard conversation causes Adam Ross to google Lindsay the final day of the trial? Spoilers up to 3x18 SOoH (aka Super Ep).

**A/N:** This is light little just for fun piece. Unfortunately, I am no comedienne so it isn't hilarious, but I figure it is smile-worthy and therefore worth sharing. Once again, my plot bunny grabbed the idea of Adam finding out certain things and just ran off with it. So, I hope you enjoy the results!

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**Lab Geeks in the Know  
**_The Overheard Conversation_

Adam Ross tapped his fingers on the desktop while waiting for his test results to appear on the computer screen. He would swear the machine slowed down anytime Detective Mac Taylor said he wanted to know the outcome ASAP.

_-BEEP-_

_Yes!_ He thought, and leaned in closer to the monitor, scanning the information displayed. _Awww, man. _Unfortunately, it would appear the trace from their female victim was ordinary body lotion with light reflecting particles, the same brand which the vic had sitting on her bathroom vanity, and favored my millions of females.

Adam sighed and hit the button to send a copy of the results to the printer. _Mac is not going to be happy with this. Better just deliver the results and get it over with quick so the detectives can focus on a different angle._

He grabbed the print out from the tray and hurried down the hall to his boss's office. After all, there was no sense in delaying the inevitable, not when it factored into an important investigation. The CSIs and this lab were the last voice of these victims, and anything he could do from his place in the lab to help them find justice, he would do.

Making his way down the hall, he could see Mac at his desk speaking on the phone. The last thing Adam wanted to do when delivering bad news was to irritate the detective by making him feel like he was in a fish bowl, or worse, that he was listening in by standing too close to the open door, so he waited a little ways down the corridor for him to finish his call. As he waited Mac's voice pierced the relative quiet in the hall.

"Danny… Danny… Danny!" Mac tried to get a word in edgewise.

Adam's ears perked up slightly hearing Danny's name. _Didn't Danny have the day off?_ he thought idly.

"YOU'RE WHERE?!?" Mac barked into the phone startling Adam out of his reverie with a jump.

_Holy crapola! I take it back, results can wait! _His self preservation instincts kicked in and he hightailed his way back towards the relative safety of his lab. He saw Stella Bonasera heading towards Mac's office. _Oh, good! Stella is on this case, I'll just give her the results; no need to add fuel to Mac's fire._

"Stella!" He cried in relief, his voice a bit louder than his usual quiet prattle.

She looked at him slightly startled, and then graced him with a smile.

"Hey, Adam, what have you got for me?"

"The, uh, trace results from your vic wound up being a compound made up primarily of um, glycerine, niacinamide, petrolatum, isopropyl isostearate, and chamomilla recutita flower extract, but the uh, sparkles in the substance came from aluminum starch octenylsuccinate, mica, titanium dioxide, and tin oxide. I mean, it seems that this product is something a lot of women use, but isn't it a little impractical? I mean why would you put that on your skin and..."

Stella waved her hand in a swiping motion, abruptly cutting off his fast paced speech. "Adam! Short answer, please! Mac's waiting on me." She gave the lab rat a small smile to soften the harshness of her words.

Adam swallowed hard. "Yeah, of course, of course." _Crap! Mac again! _"It was body lotion with tiny glittering particles; same brand as was in the vic's bathroom according to the reports." He handed the printout over to her as he choked out his final sentence.

Throughout his statement he kept looking over his shoulder towards Mac's office, which was somewhat out of sight around the corner. (Difficult to be entirely out of sight with a lab made mostly with glass walls).

Stella just raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at his odd behavior and thanked him for the results. Once freed from his obligation he beelined it back to his lab.

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Back in Mac Taylor's office… **_

"YOU'RE WHERE?!?" Mac barked into the phone. He put his forehead down into his palm, rubbing the dull ache that had been there the past few hours. Headache aside, Mac fought hard not to smile at the stuttering explanation he was getting from the younger detective he essentially had hostage on the phone. Oh yeah, he was going to get as much mileage out of this one as he could. Having to watch Danny and Lindsay dancing around each other for the past year and a half deserved at least some sort of payback.

"You do realize I only told you to take the day, not a flight?" Mac tried his best to sound stern on the phone. He sighed into the phone for effect and then continued. "You can have the week, Detective, but I expect you and Detective Monroe to be reporting for duty no later than 07:00 hours next Monday morning, do you understand?"

Danny gave his own answering sigh of relief and replied "Yes, sir!"

"Good." Mac allowed a moment of silence to pass between them and then cleared his throat. "Danny?"

"Yeah, Mac?" Danny replied cautiously.

"You did the right thing, Danny, I just want you to know that… and don't call me sir." -_CLICK- _

Danny looked down at the display of his cell phone in surprise. Mac had hung up on him? _And_ thought he'd done the right thing? Slowly a grin spread wide across his face. "Eh, Montana!" He called out loudly. "You'll never guess what Mac said!"

Mac put his head in his hands, allowing himself to chuckle lowly at this new information. Yes, the integrity of the lab takes priority, but Mac was vividly aware of how important it was to seize the time you had with someone you love. _And here Danny had said he'd never fall in love._ As long as they kept it to a minimum in the lab, he had no intention of separating one of the best investigative teams he had. Those two seemed to feed off of their competitiveness, and the lab often benefited from it. It would be best, though, not to mention this to anyone before the pair returned. He had a feeling that once this news broke, it would divert the focus of the lab from more important matters. Not for long, but he felt it best to delay the inevitable, especially with the big case they were working on, short staffed at that. That thought just renewed his mirth at the predicament.

Stella slowed in mild amusement at the scene before her as she neared Mac's office. Was he laughing? Since he had yet to notice her, she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms across her chest and just appreciated the rare sight.

Mac saw her small motion in his peripheral vision and quickly straightened up in his chair, trying in vain to restore his usual stoic expression.

"Stella, to what to I owe this honor?" he said hurriedly, hoping to divert her from what she may have just witnessed. She may be his best friend and confidante, but if there was one thing she loved other than Tiffany's, it was water cooler gossip.

"Don't think for a moment that I am letting you off the hook that easily, Mac Taylor. Adam gave me the results from the vic's trace; it was just her body lotion. Now what gives with you? Laughing, and at work nonetheless?" She put on her bullying expression that she usually reserved for interrogations, and leaned forward bracing her palms on his desk.

"The vic's own body lotion?" He tried to deflect her questions for as long as possible. "Well, that eliminates hope it was from our perp. What else have we got?"

"Mac," Stella started in, warningly.

Much to Mac's relief, Hawkes chose that moment to come barreling around the corner into Mac's office, nearly bumping into Stella in his hurry. He came to an abrupt stop.

"Sorry, Stella." Sensing that the vibe in the room wasn't quite right, he got to the point right away. "Mac, during canvas we found a witness that places the ex-boyfriend at our vic's apartment the morning that she died. Flack picked him up, and is taking him into interrogation now."

"I'm coming with you." Mac said, and stood to retrieve his suit jacket from the rack by the door.

"Mac," Stella straightened up, getting a little irritated with her friend (good naturedly, of course) about being put off like this.

"Stel, I'll get back with you later." Mac said, all business, quickly shrugging into his jacket. He turned to Hawkes. "Let's go." The men wasted no time as they worked their way towards the elevator.

Stella growled lightly in exasperation. She walked around Mac's desk and then sunk into his chair to think, knowing she was the only one who would be able to get away with doing so. _What is it that he doesn't want me to find out? _She pursed her lips as her eyebrows drew together in concentration. _It can't be anything too bad, otherwise he wouldn't have been laughing._ A smile took the place of her frown as she recalled seeing the serious Detective Taylor chuckling. It had been a rare but pleasant sight.

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Meanwhile, back in the Trace Lab… **_

Adam released a big breath as he slid to a halt within the confines of his lab. Whatever had made Mac yell like that, he wanted no part of. He started processing the next trace sample he had, running it through the mass spectrometer. He knew it would be while on the results, and since he was caught up on his workload he opted to take a break. He rolled his chair over to the regular desktop computer and pulled up his email account, deleting the usual 20 spam emails. However, his mind was still stuck on what he had seen and heard in Mac's office, turning the 'evidence' over and over, unconsciously trying to determine the source of Mac's ire.

_Well, he was obviously talking to Danny, _he thought, for once not envying the man. _I wonder where he was calling from that would have caused Mac to have such a reaction._

As he leaned back in his chair he thought back from that moment analyzing the behaviors he had witnessed the past few weeks. Although Adam had no aspirations to leave his lab, he exhibited the makings of an excellent CSI in his ability to theorize and confirm or eliminate various theories and possibilities.

_Danny has been acting a bit off recently, working extra shifts and being more distracted than usual,_ he mused. _I just assumed it was because Lindsay was gone…_ His thoughts trailed off as his eyes widened. _Lindsay!_

His hands flew to the keyboard and he pulled up the Google search engine, quickly typing 'Lindsay Monroe' into the query box before better judgment could overcome him. Scanning the results, he found one for a news article dated only a few hours prior. He clicked on it to bring the full article up on screen. He froze in amazement as a large photograph appeared. Once it had fully loaded, his mouth opened and closed a few times, like a fish out of water. Aloud he said in awe and admiration, _"No way…!"_

TBC

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A/N: **The body lotion results Adam gives to Stella are real; I got them off of the back of my lotion bottle, Olay Quench body lotion. Pretty little barely noticeable sparkles, makes your legs look great in sunlight. : ) 


	2. The Supply Room Rendezvous

**Disclaimer:** I don't own 'em, don't claim to. So don't sue me, eh?

**Summary: **What happens when an overheard conversation causes Adam Ross to google Lindsay on the final day of the trial? Spoilers up to 3x18 SOoH (aka Super Ep).

**A/N:** This chapter was really fun to write, but I do need to give you a bit of a preface. Detective Jennifer Angell makes her first appearance in the story. As far as canon goes, we really don't know very much about her. Therefore, depending on how you interpret her, you may consider her to be OOC in my story. I don't think so, but you might, so I am letting you know up front. Nothing bad though, just fun! This is a silly little entertaining piece, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it!

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**Lab Geeks in the Know  
**_The Supply Room Rendezvous_

Adam stared at the computer screen in awe and admiration. There in full color was a large picture of a couple caught by media cameras right before a kiss. The bold headlines read "_Victim-turned-Detective Celebrates Guilty Verdict_".

_Well, Danny Messer finally got his girl!_ Adam chortled. _I can't believe he went to Montana for her! Has the man even been out of the tri-state area before? _He was ecstatic for them, though. One of the benefits to being a harmless lab geek is that he was often granted the opportunity to study people with their guards down; they sometimes forgot to pretend around him. Anyone could have seen the tension between the detective duo, but watching them in the lab he had seen more than most. And they thought they were covert; their body language was just way too easy to read.

_-BEEP-_

His computer beeped again with the results of the next trace report and he rolled over to give it a look, his professional side coming out full force. _Hmm, super glue. That's unusual for where it was found._

He flipped open the file folder to see who was on this case, so he could page them with the results. Since the lab was short staffed, the detectives were overlapping on the cases, helping out each other the best they could. Looks like Sheldon Hawkes was soloing on this one as well as working the other case with Flack. Since the results were so clear cut, he just text messaged the results to Hawkes and sent a duplicate of the report via email. He sent the document to the printer so he could include a copy of the results in the file. As he stood at the printer to retrieve the sheet, a new thought occurred to him.

_Wait, if that picture was only from a few hours ago I bet no one else knows about this yet. Heck, I bet no one knows that Danny is even in Montana! ...well, other than Mac that is._ A grimace crossed his face at that name.

Adam looked over at the desktop computer and the picture still on the screen, and chewed on his lower lip. _Should I?_ He debated internally. _What would Messer do? _He smiled widely, if not with a little bit of evil glee, and loaded some photo paper into the printer tray. Darting over to the desktop, he printed out a full size copy of the photo, with the headline centered below it. _It's almost like an obligation that I should spread the good news and cheer, right? Think of how the news will brighten the mood around here. Wonder who won the pool? Probably Sid, _he conceded.

He grabbed the photo and zipped into the hallway, neck whipping from left to right as he tried to find someone to share this 'discovery' with. _Not five minutes ago this hallway was heavy with traffic. Why is it that they are never to be found when they're needed, but always seem to be hanging around badgering me for results when they aren't ready yet?_

He started off down the corridor in his pursuit, headed in the opposite direction of Mac's office. No need to face that confrontation just yet. He peeled around the corner, and continued down the hallway while looking over his shoulder to keep an eye out for Mac, nearly plowing over Detective Jennifer Angell in the process.

"Whoa, Adam, who ya running from?" She said, giving him a cool glance as they came to a halt in front of the supply room.

He flushed slightly, but it didn't stop him from glancing over his shoulder again. "I'm just, ah, you know, well ya see Mac was on the phone, and man oh man was he not happy, and then I googled, and found this" he rambled on all the while gesturing wildly with his right hand which held the picture. "And I don't want to make Mac any madder, but gosh, Danny and Montana and um, he must've flown and..." He cut off suddenly as Detective Angell grabbed his wrist in her hand. He glanced down in surprise at the delicate hand which had his wrist in such an iron grip.

_Boy, are looks deceiving! She looks delicate, almost like a street-wise porcelain doll, but dang, she's got some strength in those hands. _He flushed again at the direction his thoughts were taking. He doubted she would appreciate his thoughts, or that he mentally compared her to a porcelain doll. She tried to appear as tough as possible, being a fairly new female detective on the force.

Detective Angell appeared unaware of what was running through his mind as she tilted his arm so she could get a better look at this photo.

She hooted with glee. "I knew it! I just knew it! They finally got their shit together!" She looked up at him and asked "Who else knows about this? Do you know who won the pool?"

He was distracted by the light in her dark brown eyes until he saw a flash of movement from further down the hall. He heard the unmistakable voice of Mac Taylor drift towards them.

"Crap! Mac's coming!" Without thinking, Adam wrapped his left arm around Angell's waist and pulled her into the open supply room, shoving the door closed. _Thank god this lab is still new, _he thought, his back and right arm pushed up against the door to peer out the small block window. _Those door hinges didn't make a sound!_

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Meanwhile, coming down the corridor... **_

Mac Taylor was just returning from the precinct. Their suspect had lawyered up first thing, so the interrogation was a no go at this point. His frustration was starting to build at the roadblocks they were facing in this case.

"Mac," Stella's voice called out to him. "Wait up!"

Man groaned inwardly and dropped his gaze to the floor, but only slowed slightly. This was going to be more difficult that he first thought. Their friendship was just starting to recover from when he had kept his relationship with Peyton a secret from her. He and Peyton were going through a rough time; he was having trouble believing things would work out the second time around. He never seemed to be able to talk to her, and communicate with her the way he could with Stella. He had been realizing just how important to him his friendship to Stella was, and didn't want to risk damaging it any more. _But if that woman gets a hold of the fact that Danny went to Montana on instinct to be with Lindsay, no one in the lab will get anything done. We're far enough behind as it is._ He still managed to smile at the thought of his detectives as he let her catch up to him a few feet down from the supply room.

Deciding to go with a preemptive strike he replied back to her "Have you seen Adam around lately, Stel?" He didn't really need him for anything, but looking for Adam was as good of an excuse as any.

"No, can't say that I've seen him since earlier" She said after thinking about it for a moment.

"If you see him, could you tell him to stop by my office before he leaves today?"

"Sure thing, Mac." She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the ring of her own cell phone.

"Bonasera." She said into the speaker, and then listened as her caller responded. "Alright, I'm on my way."

She looked up at Mac and filled him in. "The assistant D.A. wants to go over some trail prep with me, make sure she's got all the necessary info on the case. I'll catch up with _you_ later though." she stated pinning him with her infamous look.

He gave her a weak smile and nodded before she started off down the corridor. He watched her walk away for a moment, then shook his head to clear it. Sighing, he turned and made his way back towards his office.

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Meanwhile back in the supply room… _**

_What the hell…? _Detective Angell thought in shock. Adam had apparently forgotten she was there and still had his arm wrapped all the way around the back of her slender waist, his hand lightly gripping her left hip and holding her close. Due to their proximity, Angell had wound up with her hands braced on his chest. She looked at him, eye level with the slight beard following his jaw line since he was peering out the door's window.

She blinked a few times, and resisted the impulse to flex her fingers where they lay on his hard chest. _Wait, hard chest? Just what has 'Lab Rat Ross' been hiding under that white lab coat?! _She thought in wonder. _This is Adam, what the hell am I thinking?_ Lab geeks were definitely not supposed to be her type. Her type was supposed to be someone like the tall blue-eyed detective, with his confidant ladies-man swagger, or the intelligent doctor, with his wealth of knowledge, dark eyes, and smooth way with women. Definitely not lab geeks.

Jennifer Angell did not like being knocked off her base. Being an attractive female detective, she already had to work hard to be accepted on the force. The fact that her brass was newer than some of the men she worked with did not mean that she was any less deserving of it, yet somehow she always seemed to have to prove it to them. For these reasons she had cultivated a tough exterior nature to contradict her softer look. Getting pulled into a darkened supply room was not something any of her other coworkers would have the balls to do to her. Being able to feel Adam Ross's steady heartbeat through the muscle under his lab coat had her feeling a desperate need to regain the upper hand. She cleared her throat lightly.

"Are you gonna make me use my handcuffs, Ross?"

She would swear he must've jumped at least half a foot straight into the air when she spoke. He looked down at her, his blue-gray eyes locking with hers. He quickly let go of her, grateful for the dim lighting of the room which helped conceal another blush. Since his back was against the door, she took a slow step back from him. However, she unconsciously allowed her hands to trail down his front and abdomen as they dropped from their position on his chest. Her eyes widened slightly at the flex of his rigid abdomen beneath her hands, and she fought to pretend she didn't notice, biting her lower lip.

Adam's gaze dropped to the lips in question and swallowed hard.

"Geez, I, um, didn't, uh," He let out a big huffing sigh. He looked down at his feet, shuffling them somewhat and mumbled. "Sorry 'bout that," And cleared his throat out of nervousness. Without waiting for a response, he quickly turned and opened the door. He finally made eye contact with her again as he gestured for her to go out ahead of him.

_Hmm, _she thought, raising an eyebrow at him for his actions. _He's got a chivalrous streak. Thought that stuff was reserved for guys trying to get lucky on a date. Oh damnit, stop it Jennifer! _She scolded herself mentally, and gave Adam a smile as though making up to him for the transgression he was unaware of. At the look of mild confusion on his face, a thought occurred to her. _No wonder guys thinks chicks are crazy, _and smiled wider as she stepped into the hall. She smoothed her shirt down over her hip where his hand had been resting just moments before.

He followed her out into the corridor allowing the supply room door close silently behind them. He stood in front of the door rubbing the back of his flushed neck, unsure of where to go from here. The picture was forgotten in the grasp of his right hand.

Angell looked down at her watch, showing the time as 5:00 pm, and then looked back up at Adam.

"I have to go and check out something in the AV lab, but I wanna find out what the story is with that," she said gesturing to the picture.

Adam looked down, somewhat surprised to see he still held the paper.

"Um, yeah, I can uh, fill you in."

"I'm off in an hour. How 'bout Sullivan's at 6:30?" She asked surprising even herself as the words came out.

"Sure. I can meet you there." He said, too caught off guard to even stutter.

"Good." She nodded once at him and then walked away.

He stood stock still in the hallway mesmerized by the slight roll of her hips as she walked away.

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Meanwhile, in the hallway around the corner from the supply room... **_

Don Flack and Sheldon Hawkes came out of the break room, making their way towards Mac's office. Don rolled his eyes in mock exasperation and tried not to laugh as Sheldon ignored his fake irritation and continued to explain the difference between RNA and DNA. Friends are always the best targets, after all.

They paused as Hawkes stopped to open and take a drink of his bottled water. Flack chuckled and looked around. Through the window he could see the hallway where Mac Taylor was standing alone. Flack's expression turned thoughtful when he saw Mac shaking his head and walking away. Hawkes followed his gaze just in time to see the supply room door open. Out of the door walked Detective Angell, smoothing her shirt over her hip, closely followed by a flushed Adam Ross. Hawkes raised both eyebrows in surprise while Flack's mouth actually dropped open. They saw Adam and Angell talking but couldn't hear what was being said.

Don's eyebrows drew together in thought with his mouth slightly twisted, and then turned towards Sheldon.

"Naw, can't be." They both turned back to the scene before them.

They turned back towards each other and Sheldon said slowly "Definitely can't be what it looks like."

They turned back to the window again and watched Angell walking away from Adam, hips swaying. They turned towards each other for a third time, this time sharing a smile. Don said, "Definitely no way, she is waaay out of his league."

They both laughed, and continued the trek towards Mac's office resuming their friendly banter.

TBC

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A/N2:** Yeah, so the plot bunny totally took over on this chapter. I love my plot bunny!  
Oh, and trust me, even though this story is Adam-centric, there will be D/L soon! I can't write a fic without my OTP! 


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